Land of the Dead
by GPRox
Summary: Héctor and Imelda had to have met up a couple of times in the Land of the Dead prior to the events of the movie Coco. Here are those moments.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey Guys! So this is the first Fanfiction I've written in over two years! Last time I was on fan fiction, I noticed my writing improved a lot. I began to work on my own stuff and I got pretty good at writing. Then... then I kind of lost track of writing and began to focus on other stuff. I want to become a good writer again, writing is my passion and always has been so I decided I'd start from the my origins and go back to Fanfiction. I recently saw Coco, expecting to hate it because I'm a devout Book of Life fan, but I was converted! Book of Life still has my heart, but Coco's in there too now! I mean, did you see the movie?! Obviously you did and were moved by it because you're here! Anyways, on with the story! Hope you guys like it :)**

 **Chapter 1**

The night was chilly, so all the windows were shut tight in the Rivera household. On the second floor, above the workshop where the family made their famous Rivera Shoes, Socorro Rivera tucked her elderly mother in for the night.

Coco gently helped her mother onto the bed, and then layered over her the thickest, softest, warmest blankets the Riveras owned. Imelda smiled sadly as her daughter tenderly tucked the blankets around her legs to keep them especially warm.

"I am going to die soon," Imelda sighed, her voice a croaky whisper.

Coco stopped and straightened. "No, Mamá, don't say that please."

Imelda reached over and grabbed the tea that her Granddaughter, Elena, had prepared for her. "I can feel it, mi amor," Imelda said before taking a sip.

"You are fine, Mamá," Coco said sternly, sitting on the bed next to her mother. Then she added more gently, "I'll call in the doctor to see you tomorrow if you're not feeling well."

"I'm tired, Coco," Imelda murmured, reaching out to gently stroke one of Coco's long, luscious black braids.

"Then sleep," Coco smiled, taking her mother's hand.

"I will soon," Imelda nodded in reply.

Imelda closed her eyes to sleep and Coco smiled at her now worn mother. The strong woman who had raised her had gotten softer this past year as age and the struggles she'd endured in life finally caught up to her. Imelda had just begun to softly snore when the door flew open and Elena, beaming in the doorway, announced, "Papá is home!"

At this Imelda's eyes flew open and she looked through her daughter to see Elena, Coco's own spitting image down to the beauty mark just above her lip on the right side of her face.

"Your Papá is home?" Imelda croaked. Elena nodded and tears welled in Imelda's eye. With all the strength she could muster, Imelda forced the blankets off herself and cried out her lost love's name, "Héctor?"

Both Coco and Elena rushed to put Imelda back into bed. Coco hushed her mother, gently stroking her hair to calm her, "No, Mamá, _Elena's_ Papá is home. My husband, Julio, remember?"

Defeated, Imelda ceased her struggling and let her daughter and granddaughter tuck her back in. "Of course, Julio…"

Once Imelda was tucked in warmly again, Coco stood and brushed off her skirt. "Elena, go serve your father a plate to eat, he must be hungry, eh?"

Elena nodded, kissed her Abuelita Imelda good night, and rushed out of the room to greet her father. The second that Elena was gone from the room, Imelda began to cry.

Coco frowned and wiped the tears from her mother's eyes. "Don't cry, Mamá."

"He's gone," Imelda whispered. "Mi amor, he's gone… I just… I just wanted to see him one more time before I died… I thought he would come back to us, I really did… I thought he'd come home begging to be back in the family… I thought… I thought I'd see him-"

Coco bit her lip, contemplating something as she held her weeping mother. Finally, despite everything that her head was telling her, Coco whispered, "Wait here," before rushing out of the room.

Alone, Imelda looked around the room, imagining her charming young husband smiling at her from the doorway. "Oh you fool," Imelda spat, "How could you leave us?! You were my _Gran Amor_ -"

The door opened and Imelda wiped her eyes. Coco held a photo of her hands and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears nervously. "I have something for you, Mamá… I kept it after all these years…"

Imelda reached out and accepted the photo from Coco. The second her eyes registered who it was, she clutched the photo to her heart and let a single tear roll down. As she clutched the photo, she finally let herself remember.

 _Remember me… though I have to say goodbye, remember me… don't let it make you cry.. Imelda stood at the doorway watching her husband sing and play the guitar to their daughter. Angry tears welled in her eyes at the thought of him leaving but she knew it was his dream. Héctor tucked in his almost four year-old daughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead. His eyes met his wife's as he kissed the young Coco good night. He rose, and smiled at Imelda, making his way across the room and closing the door behind him._

 _He put his arms around her and pulled her into a close embrace._

 _"I'm still mad at you," Imelda murmured into his shoulder._

 _"I know, mi amor," Héctor whispered into her ear in the way that made it tickle._

 _Imelda leaned back to look him in the eyes. His hands slid down to her waist to keep her close._

 _"Good luck, Héctor," Imelda said earnestly. "I hope all goes well with you and Ernesto, but at the same time I don't, because I don't want you to forget us…"_

 _"_ Tu eres mi gran amor, Imelda," _Héctor replied gently. "You are in my heart and so is Coco so we will never truly be apart. You both are the most important things in my life."_

 _"Next to music," Imelda added bitterly._

 _Héctor sighed, "Let's not fight right now, Imelda. Let's make the most of the time we have left together…"_

 _Héctor leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She rose on her toes to reach his lips, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to lift her up off the ground and deepen their kiss. Her right hand snaked its way up to the back of his head so that she could run her fingers through his soft, dark hair. With her other hand, draped around his shoulder to keep herself up, she squeezed his shoulder gently as they kissed._

 _There was a knock on the door, which they ignored. After only a matter of seconds, the knock was repeated so Héctor slowly put his wife down. He made a step towards the door, but she held his face in her hands to stop him. She stared into his deep brown eyes, memorizing his face. The way that his soft brown hair framed his face… the dimple on his left cheek… the shape of his lips…_

 _"HÉCTOR! VAMONOS!" Ernesto shouted from outside home._

 _Imelda frowned, but Héctor grinned sheepishly, his golden tooth peeping out through his smile. Imelda couldn't ignore the overwhelming feeling of love that washed over her the moment she saw his grin. He made his way to the door and opened it. When she laid eyes on Ernesto, the feeling was spoiled and began to decompose into a sense of dread and urgency, even anger…_

After several minutes of silence and watching her resting mother, Coco summoned the courage to ask, "D-do you think you could ever forgive my Papá?"

Imelda hardened and shook her head, allowing the feeling of anger to take control once again. "I cannot. He left me, he left us, Coco. I'm dying here, alone because of him. He should be here with me… holding my hand… kissing my forehead… instead… he's gone."

"M-maybe he's dead," Coco suggested, squeezing her mother's hand. "Maybe you'll see him in the land of the dead-"

"Even then I could never forgive him."

"I see," Coco said quietly, her eyes downcast. She bit her lip then glanced up at her her mother, tears in her eyes. She kissed her mother on the forhead and whispered, "Good night Mamá. I'll see you in the morning."

Imelda turned to her daughter and smiled. "Good night Mi Amor."

Coco closed the door behind her softly, and Imelda settled back into the pillows, clutching the photo of Hector as close to her chest as she could.

"I haven't forgiven you, you hopeless fool" Imelda sighed. As her eyes fluttered shut, she whispered to her husband, "But I want to hold you in my arms as I sleep one last time, _mí gran amor_ …"

 **A/N: Please Review! More Chapters are to come, but reviews fill me with determination so I can write and update faster! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Mamá?! Mamá?!" A frantic voice sobbed loudly, almost waking Imelda, but it faded as she felt herself floatm farther and farther away.

She was at peace for a moment, and everything went silent. Seconds ticked by in total silence as Imelda felt herself grow stronger, and the energy return to her body. Suddenly, she felt as if she were falling and when she hit the ground with a jolt, her eyes snapped open. Imelda looked over at her sobbing daughter who held her hand, and her sense of hearing was restored.

"Oh, Coco, it's okay," Imelda yawned. As she yawned, she stretched up, feeling revived and rejuvenated. _I haven't felt this good in years!_ Imelda thought to herself as her eyes focused on her arms.

"Ay!" Imelda cried, jumping up from the bed to look at her arms. Her arms were nothing but bones, literally. Ivory, solid, hard bones. No skin, no veins, just bones! When she jumped, the photo of Hector floated to the ground. She bent to pick it up, examining it before gently folding it up and placing it in the pocket of her long, purple dress.

Imelda's dark brown eyes turned to her bed where her body lay, cold and still. Coco held her corpse's hand and began sobbing frantically until Julio arrived at the doorway.

"Julio help!" Coco whimpered, reaching out to her husband. "I th-think my M-mamá is dead!"

Julio rushed towards his wife and mother in law, passing straight through Imelda. Imelda lurched forward at the strange feeling and then turned to watch the scene before her unfold. Her son-in-law gently took her body's arm, checking for a pulse at her wrist. He announced that she was indeed dead and gave the body a kiss on the hand. Coco sobbed and sunk to the floor holding her mother's hand.

At the ruckus, Elena appeared at the doorway rubbing her eyes sleepily before stopping at the sight of her mother on the floor crying. Imelda's eyes filled with tears as she watched Elena realize what had happened.

"No!" Elena cried, running to the bed to hug her grandmother.

"I- I'll go get the Doctor to confirm her death," Julio said quietly. He made his way to the door then turned, "Keep an ear out for Victoria. We don't want her wandering in here and seeing her grandmother like this, she's only nine years old…" And with that, Julio rushed out to grab the pueblo's doctor.

On the bed, Elena sniffled as she buried her face in her grandmother's chest and Imelda walked over to put her arms around her grand daughter.

"It's okay, Elena," Imelda whispered into her grand daughter's hair.

Still weeping, Elena sat up on the bed to look at her grandmother's body. She reached out to grab the photo of Héctor and look at it. Confused, Imelda, reached into her pocket to pull out the same photo.

"Is this _him_?" Elena asked in disdain, through her hiccup sobs.

After looking the photo over one more time, to see her husband's youthful face, Imelda put the photo back in her pocket and made her way to her vanity. She looked at her skeleton face in the mirror, and her hand flew to her mouth.

"I can't believe this is me," Imelda gasped.

"Yes, it's him," Coco replied softly.

Imelda's head was now nothing but a skull, her eyes black holes with eyeballs floating in the center. Her hair was strangely enough still on her head, the streak of graying hair visible in her bun. Imelda moved her hand down to her throat, and gasped. She could still feel the softness of her skin, but if she pushed down hard enough, she could make contact with her collar bone without an ounce of pain. Imelda swallowed and looked at her chest, nothing but ribs now. Literally.

Imelda frowned at the sight of herself. She quite liked her soft brown face and pink cheeks and red lips, but now all that was left was ivory and ebony. Imelda glanced at what was left sprawled out on her vanity and then reached down to grab her brush. Just as she had suspected, her hand went straight through the brush.

"So, I can only touch what I had on me when I died," Imelda concluded.

Meanwhile, Elena continued to glower at the photo of her grandfather. " _Ese desgraciado_ ," Elena growled, making a move to tear the photo.

"No!" Coco cried, snatching the photo from Elena and shoving it in her dress pocket.

"Mamá," Elena scolded, "Mamá Imelda would want us to get rid of that photo!"

Imelda turned to her fighting daughter and granddaughter and frowned.

"He's my Papá," Coco said, shaking her head. "It's my photo and I'm keeping it."

Hot tears of grief and anger burned in Elena's eyes. "Next thing you know you'll be listening to music!" She hissed as she stormed out of the room.

Imelda gave her grieving granddaughter a sad smile as the girl stormed out of the room. _Elena is just as strong and determined I was when I was her age, so unlike her gentle mother,_ Imelda sighed in her mind.

Alone, Coco began speaking to her mother softly. "I know you're still here, with me in spirit."

"I am," Imelda nodded, walking over to her daughter hopefully.

"I love you Mamá," Coco whispered. "I love you… thank you for being such a good mother!" Coco moaned loudly then began to sob again as her mother's death began to sink in. "Ayyyy… Papá where are you?!" Coco cried. "Please, don't leave me all alone! Papá, you should have been here with her! She loved you so much… Even if she said she didn't, I know she did… Ay, Papá, why didn't you come home? This is all your fault… You really are never coming home… You really- really let me down Papá."

Imelda stared at her sobbing daughter angrily, her heart sinking. Imelda clenched her fists together. Héctor had really done it. He finally let Coco down.

"Oh you'd better be dead," Imelda growled through gritted death. "When I see you I'm going to kill you."

There was a knock at the door, Imelda and Coco turned to see Julio in the doorway with the doctor. The doctor came in, and began to examine Imelda. Then, he took out a certificate of death and wrote the date and time. It was official. Imelda was dead.

The second the doctor lifted the pen from signing his name on the paper, something magnificent occurred. An overwhelming flash of orange blinded Imelda, and she flinched, shutting her eyes tight. When she opened them again, there was a path of _Cempasuchiles_ , or Mexican Marigolds, on the ground.

Imelda understood immediately. It was time for her to go. Turning to her daughter, Imelda whispered, "Te quiero mi amor. I'll see you in November."

Imelda stepped onto the path and the second she did, she traveled at what felt like the speed of light towards the graveyard of Santa Cecelia. However, where the graveyard usually ended into a forest, she now saw a bridge made of of _Cempasuchil_ petals. It was brilliant and glowing and orange and beautiful. As she floated up the bridge, higher and higher, she felt weightless. She looked around, and saw how high up she was, how beautiful the stars were almost next to her. And then she was falling again.

Screaming, Imelda held down her skirt as she plummeted to the earth again. "What happened?!" she screamed, shutting her eyes.

Almost as quickly as she started falling, she stopped. There was no jolt as she hit the ground, instead, she felt as if she had just gently sat down on a chair. Opening her eyes, Imelda found herself seated in an office. A skeleton sat behind a desk in front of her, pulling open a file.

"Imelda Rivera?" The skeleton verified.

"Yes," Imelda nodded nervously.

The skeleton smiled and stretched out his hand to her, "Welcome to the land of the dead."

Apprehensively Imelda took his hand and shook it. The skeleton laughed at this, "You're braver than the rest of 'em! Everyone is always too freaked out that they're dead, begin cryin' when I stretch out my hand to them."

Imelda raised an eyebrow. "You find joy in the confusion and devastation of others?"

The skeleton chortled, "No, Señora."

Imelda rolled her eyes in disbelief and the skeleton continued, "All right, so it looks like you've got some family left. Your Mother is still here and so is your husband-"

"Héctor… is here…?" Imelda gasped.

"Yes Ma'am," The skeleton nodded. He leaned back in his chair in satisfaction, "He's waiting for you in the waiting room, just down the hall. Ah, I love it when lovers are reunited!"

"I do not love him," Imelda snapped sharply. She got to her feet and began to pace, contemplating this. _Héctor is here,_ she thought to herself. _How long has he been here for? Was I right to assume that he'd had an accident which is why he couldn't come home?_ Tears began to burn in Imelda's eyes as she recalled how worried she'd been the first year after he stopped writing them. Before she gave up on him. _What if he's sorry-_ then she remembered Elena and Coco. She remembered how he left his daughter, knowing the risk that he'd never come home. The way that Elena resented him for leaving her mother helpless as a child. The way he finally let down Coco.

"I don't want to see that man," Imelda informed the skeleton.

The skeleton scratched his head. "Eh, but he's your husband, Señora. _Tú gran amor…_ "

Imelda's hand flew to her mouth, and she gasped. "Y-you heard that?"

Sensing the imminent danger he was in, the skeleton fidgeted and replied, "Your mother and Héctor were granted the opportunity to watch your final moments… to prepare for your reuinion."

Imelda buried her face in her hands in shame. "Ay-ay-ay!" she shook her head. "How completely and utterly _humiliating!"_ Imelda bit her lip, or over her lower jaw since she no longer had lips, and glanced around at her surroundings. There was a window, and a door, the only two exits. Imelda made her way to the window and glanced out.

Peering out the window, Imelda was shocked to see that at the bottom of the building there was no ground! The building was floating over a never ending black abyss. Imelda glanced at the door, thoughtfully tapping her fingers over her arm.

"Is there any way out of here that I won't have to face them?" Imelda posed sheepishly. The second the words left her mouth and reached her ears, she blanched and thought: _Seriously? I'm afraid to face them?!_ Taken aback by this moment of weakness, Imelda blinked before standing tall and proud. She turned to the skeleton man, and said in the most confident voice she could muster, "Nevermind that. I am Imelda Rivera, I don't cower. I am strong, confident, and independent. Show me the way out, Señor."

"Sí, Señora," the skeleton man replied softly, making his way to the door. He opened the door for her, and Imelda stepped into the hallway regally and waited for him. Following the skeleton man down the hall towards the lobby, Imelda could practically feel her heart pounding in her chest. _It's strange that I can feel my heart pounding though it's no longer there…_

The skeleton man reached the door to the lobby and turned back towards Imelda. She nodded that she was ready and the skeleton man opened the door and stepped aside to let her pass. Imelda took a deep breath before walking into the lobby.

* * *

The second the door to the Family Reunion Offices creaked open, Héctor stood and stared at it hopefully just as he had every time the door opened since Imelda's death. The heart of his soul pounded in his chest and then it stopped when he laid eyes on her. Even as a skeleton, Imelda was as beautiful as the day she met him. Héctor staggered back when her dark, beautiful, black eyes met his. Her eyes were hard, as he expected, but he could see through the mask she was putting on. He could still hear her last words ringing in his ears… _I want to hold you in my arms as I sleep one last time, mí gran amor…_

"I-Imelda," Héctor stammered before running to her.

Tears fell freely from his eyes as threw his arms around her tightly and he spun her around. Héctor put her down, and moved his hands to her shoulders to stare into those beautiful eyes of hers…

"Imelda," Héctor sighed.

* * *

Imelda shut her eyes tight trying to swallow the rush of joy she felt as Héctor spun her around. When he put her down, she was glued to his eyes. She froze, she couldn't move, her heart melted, she felt like she was dying once again just looking into those eyes... _After twenty six years, I'm looking into Héctor's eyes!_ Imelda couldn't stop staring at him, the man of her dreams, the love of her life. She had just prepared herself to be strong but with one glance he destroyed all the walls she'd put up.

How she had longed to see those eyes! Héctor offered her a shy smile and she melted again! How she had longed to see that crooked smile, that golden tooth peaking through his lips! The way his face gave that hint of nervousness despite those unnerving eyes. _Héctor,_ Imelda gasped in her brain, _it's you, it's really you!_

* * *

Héctor raised his hand to her cheek, and brought his forehead down to hers. He felt so shaky, so nervous, so excited, so alive. He was here once again with his true love, with the love of his life! Imelda shut her eyes tight as his forehead touched hers. They were closed for several seconds, before she opened them again. In that time, Hector admired her eyelashes, her mouth, her dress, her hair… he admired everything about her. And when her eyes met his again, he couldn't contain himself any longer. Closing his eyes, Héctor leaned down to kiss the love of his life, something he'd been waiting twenty-six long years for. But the moment before their mouths touched, Héctor was slapped straight across the face, so hard that his head spun, literally. Héctor staggered back, in response, and his hand went to his cheek which stung from the impact.

* * *

Imelda closed her eyes as Héctor's forehead touched hers and tried to calm down. But she couldn't. It was just such a sweet gesture, the way they used to show affection when they were alive. She thought about them alive, and happy and in that moment, with Héctor's forehead to hers, she felt true bliss. But only for that moment. Imelda could never forget him leaving. She could never forget the way that Coco cried night after night for him. She could never forget the way he chose music over her, over his daughter.

With a new determination, Imelda opened her eyes to see Héctor's. This time she was looking into the eyes of the man that left her, a man that would leave his own daughter to feed his own ambition. She tried to convey anger in her gaze, but apparently it was misinterpreted because Héctor began to lean in to kiss her.

She thought about letting him kiss her. _Be strong_ , _Imelda,_ she thought to herself before reaching back and smacking Héctor across the face. Imelda almost cried out upon seeing Héctor's head twist at an unnatural angle, then around in a circle as if he were an owl. Héctor caught his head and held his cheek in shock, staring at her awaiting an explanation.

"I guess I probably deserved-" Hector started with a chuckle.

"You measly excuse for a man!" Imelda shouted, silencing the murmur of the private conversations people were holding in the lobby. Héctor paled and took a nervous step backwards, enabling Imelda to advance aggressively. "How could you leave your daughter like that? How could you leave me like that? You just turned around and never looked back! And then, after we fight, you stop writing me letters?! And never return. How long have you been dead for?!"

"Twen-" Héctor started.

"Nevermind that, I don't want to know!" Imelda glared, covering her ears. "I don't want to know anything about you, Héctor!" Héctor shivered at the way Imelda screamed his name in fury. She screamed it like Ehck-tohrrr, the pronunciation she used only when she was being either very sweet or very mean. Imelda herself paused for a second after saying his name, surprised at the way it so easily rolled off her tongue at him as if she'd just scolded him yesterday. It was as if no time had passed. But it had. A lifetime had passed. Imelda continued, "You are dead to me, Héctor!"

"Imelda, let me explain-" Héctor started, but it was too late. Imelda had already made eye contact with her mother and dashed away from Héctor and into her mother's arms

"Mamá!" Imelda cried, embracing her mother.

Héctor trailed behind her at a cautious distance, rubbing his arm as it was his nervous habit to do so. Meanwhile, Maria Gonzalez, Imelda's mother, hugged her daughter tightly.

"Where is Papá?" Imelda asked, pulling away from the hug, but still holding on to her mother.

Tears welled in Maria's eyes, and she whispered, "Forgotten"

 **A/N: Don't forget to review! :D (Pls) Also, Cempasutchil is the Mexican Marigold, the orange day of the dead flower. I'll be sprinkling some Spanish here and there and might forget to include definitions so if anyone needs the definitions let me know so I can remember to include them :)**

 **Gran Amor~ Literal translation: Great Love. What it means: Love of your life**

 **Tu~ your**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for favoriting, following and reviewing 3 it means a lot!**

 **Chapter 3**

"Where is Papá?" Imelda asked, pulling away from the hug, but still holding on to her mother.

Tears welled in Maria's eyes, and she whispered, "Forgotten."

Imelda glanced around confused, still searching for her father. "What do you mean?"

"When the last living person who remembers you, or whose been told stories of you in such great detail that they feel that they know you, dies… then you are forgotten and you vanish from this world," Héctor chipped in. "We call it the final death."

Imelda pursed her lips, annoyed that Héctor felt as if it were okay for him to speak to her, but grateful for the information. She arched an eyebrow at her mother to elaborate.

"He-he just disappeared as you died," Maria sniffed. "You were the last person to remember him… and he began to fade. Began to disappear and grow weaker, until he glowed with the dying golden light and faded from my arms all together."

Imelda swallowed hard, trying to keep from crying. "Wh-where did he go?"

"No one knows," Héctor sighed sadly.

"C-can this be prevented?" Imelda whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Yes," nodded Maria, "By putting up a photo or a momentum of the deceased on an altar for the dead."

"But that in itself requires a bit of knowledge of the person who passed, which helps keep them tethered to the world," Héctor added.

Imelda buried her face in her hands in a moment's weakness and moaned, "So it's all my fault that Papá is gone!"

Maria, placed her hands over her daughter's and held them tightly. "No, mi amor, it's not your fault! We didn't raise you celebrating that tradition!"

Imelda swallowed, squeezing her mother's hands as she contemplated the inevitability of her own second death. She sighed, "And I didn't raise my family to celebrate that tradition either so I, too, will be forgotten…"

Héctor took a deep breath, then took several cautious steps closer to the women, at a distance acceptable to include him in the conversation. "Not exactly…" he started. "Coco and Elena celebrate day of the dead."

Shocked by this information, Imelda finally acknowledged her husband's presence, and turned to him with a gasp. "What?"

"Remember our granddaughter, Elena's, friend who died when she was eight?" Héctor asked.

Imelda nodded, remembering the tragedy of Elena's childhood friend, Rosalinda, an innocent child who died too young drowning in a lake one summer. Then, the realization that Héctor had been long gone by the time this occurred hit her. "Yes- wha- how did you know about that?"

"Let me finish and I'll explain. Well, after that Coco and Elena would make a mini-altar in Elena's room every _Dia de los Muertos_ for that girl… something that Coco had been doing every year since she was fourteen… for me," Héctor replied.

Staring stoically at Héctor, Imelda rubbed her arms as she contemplated this information. "Coco has been making a secret day of the dead altar for you since she was fourteen?" Héctor nodded with a sad smile and Imelda continued, "You've been dead since she was fourteen?"

"Before that, actually-" Héctor started.

"I don't want to know," Imelda interjected, raising a hand to silence him. Then she shook her head, refusing to accept her daughter's defiance. Day of the Dead was perfectly fine to Imelda, especially now that she was dead, but she couldn't accept that Coco would make an altar for the man that abandoned them, a man she still believed would come back to her one day. "No, no, no, Coco believes you're still alive!"

"I know, and it kills me," Héctor murmured. " _It was just like any other Dia De los Muertos, I found myself at the cempasutchil bridge, trying to cross to see if by chance you had set up an altar for me. Before then, I had no idea how much you resented me, whether you knew that I was dead or not, how you were doing. All I knew was that you and Coco were alive and I prayed with every ounce in me that you were doing all right._

 _"I waited in the long line to cross the bridge, and when it was finally my turn, I wasn't expecting much. I grinned sheepishly for the camera and fully expected to be declined but instead, the light turned green and the woman behind the camera let me know that there was a picture of me on my family's altar._

 _"At first I believed that they were playing a trick on me, it couldn't be true! You and I never really celebrated day of the dead… Then, as I started to make my way towards the bridge, my heart shattered. I foolishly figured that you must have realized that I was dead and were heartbroken. I made my way across the bridge, excitedly, to look for you and Coco. Despite the fact that I was gone, in that moment everything seemed right. I was finally forgiven for leaving, and you guys decided to put up a photo of me on your altar._

 _"Back in Santa Cecelia, I broke down and wept as it hit me for the trillionth time, though this one harder than usual, that I should have never left our beautiful pueblo. I made my way to our old home and saw a sign outside in the shape of a shoe that read Rivera. Imelda, I can't tell you how proud I was to see our name on that sign. It had to mean that you still loved me, that Coco still carried my name. I passed through the door and saw the two of you for the first time in years._

 _"I cried, I'll admit, I sobbed... I ran up to you and threw my arms around you. I know you felt it, Imelda, because you froze as soon as my arms were around you. Coco asked you what was wrong and you shook your head, snapping back to reality. I know you were thinking about me, because later that night when you were in your room alone, you hummed La Llorona… but I'm getting ahead of myself._

 _"After hugging you, Coco asked you what was wrong. Oh, her voice! Hearing it all grown up! Coco was fourteen now, my big girl! I dashed down to sit next to her on the desk and watched, mesmerized, as my baby worked on making a shoe. Her fingers moved so quickly, with such agility that I knew she was a pro. Then I looked up at her beautiful face. She looked like you, Imelda, but I couldn't deny her features that were like mine. She wasn't loud like either of us, no, but she had that same shy smile that I hate so much about myself… but on her… I died a second time that night seeing her all grown up and knowing that she wouldn't know that I was with her._

 _"You asked Coco where some certain tool was, I don't remember what it was, and then she casually replied that it was in her room. You stood up to go and get it but were too distracted in your shoe making process to notice our daughter jump at the thought of you going into her room. 'No, Mamá, I'll get it for you!' Coco insisted before gently patting you on the shoulder in reassurance and speeding up into her room. Her reaction to the thought of you entering her room made me suspicious and so I followed her to make sure everything was all right._

 _"Coco made it into her room, and I was in after her. She clicked the door locked and then dashed to the right side of her bed in a tight space between her bed and the wall. She sat on the floor in front of something that positioned so that you couldn't see it from the doorway, because it was hidden by her bed. I made my way to her slowly, and that's when I saw it! A photo of me! Hidden between her bed and the wall, the photo stood with a single wrinkled cempazutchil before it. She must have smuggled the flower in, I realized. And a small candle also lay flickering next to the photo. Coco sat before it and admired her work for a moment before she began talking to me!_

 _" 'Papá,' Coco whispered, 'I know you're not really dead, but my friend Julio was telling me about how he includes his uncle who went missing's photo on his family's altar for Dia de los Muertos just in case. He says it helps him feel connected to his uncle and he hopes it might help his uncle find his way home. I want to feel connected to you too, Papá.'_

 _"I wanted to die when I heard that, Imelda. I would have given anything to be with her in that moment. To let her know that she really was connected to me! Coco continued, 'So I set up this altar for you. And I'll make one for you every Dia de los Muertos. I love you, Papá.' Suddenly, your voice rang out from down stairs, 'Coco, where is that tool?!'_

 _"Coco jumped at the sound of your voice and got up to grab the tool from her desk. 'Mamá can never know that I've done this,' Coco whispered to me, or my altar, 'She's still mad at you for leaving, but I know she still loves you like I do. I love you Papá.' And with that she ran back downstairs. I didn't quite know the extent to which you resented me. I figured that you still talked about me, and that you acted angry but really did love me. And then I went downstairs…_

 _" 'Mamá, Julio was telling me the other day-' Coco started. 'Julio? What a nice boy! I really think that boy would make an excellent match for you' you replied. 'Anyways,' Coco continued, 'Julio was telling me about the ofrenda he sets up for his family on Dia de los Muertos.' Without looking up from your work, you responded with, 'Ah, is that so?' 'Sí,' Coco nodded. 'I was wondering, if perhaps, we could make an ofrenda?' At this you looked up, knowing she meant she wanted an ofrenda for me. I thought you were looking at her like this because you were in denial of my death. So you asked, 'Who for?' We could both tell by Coco's nerves what she was going to say next. 'For my Papá?' At this, you stopped sewing and stared straight at your daughter. 'Coco, that man left us when you were only a child. He does not deserve an altar, he is dead to this family!' 'Mamá, Julio puts one up for his missing uncle hoping it'll help guide him home-' Coco tried to explain. 'Even if he were to come home, you know Coco that I would never allow him to stay! He's been gone for too long, I never want to see him again!' Tears welled in Coco's eyes, 'Mamá-' 'Enough!' you shouted, 'That's the last we'll speak of_ ese desgraciado _.'_

 _"Hearing you say those words, Imelda, brought back all the guilt I'd been harboring since the day that I left. I genuinely believed I would return to you and Coco but when I woke up, dead, the guilt hit me like a ton of bricks and has been gnawing away at me ever since! I could hear it in your voice how much you blamed me, how mad you still were at me and it was like I was being crushed by my guilt. 'No, Imelda, please, forgive me', I begged-"_

Imelda had been captivated by his story up until this point. However, hearing about his guilt, and hearing his meaningless apology brought back the coldness to her heart. "Get to the point of the story," Imelda interrupted sharply.

"Well ever since Julio introduced the concept to her, Coco has been keeping an altar for me every Day of the Dead. I've been with you for two days every year, and I've been keeping tabs on our family. I've seen Coco grow into the beautiful young woman she is now, and I've seen Julio be the husband that our daughter deserves. I'm so grateful I even got to see our granddaughters Elena and Victoria! I've been keeping tabs on you all, like I said, so one year I noticed Elena playing with Rosalinda which is why I was able to recognize her when she wound up here, almost a decade ago. She stayed with me the first year and I even helped her cross the bridge her first time which is how we discovered that Elena had also began to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos. Then she got family over here and went to live with them…" Héctor trailed off.

Imelda was moved by what he said, but she knew she couldn't show it. It was what he wanted, to woo her with his words like he always did. Well, Imelda no longer cared for his words or music. Actions, she had learned through her short, hard life, were the most meaningful way to demonstrate one's feelings towards another. So she carefully worded her expression of gratitude, looking up at him frankly. "Thank you, Héctor for watching over Rosalinda." Héctor's eyes met hers nervously and a shy smile began to sneak its way onto his face. "But," Imelda continued, stumping the growth of his stupid grin, "I still cannot forgive you for abandoning us. You left me, you left our daughter, and in those times Héctor, we could have wound up in a terrible place. I had to overcome my heartbreak, and I had to give up hope that you were ever coming back as well as my feelings for you in order for Coco and I to survive. Héctor, I had to give up music, my third love, because you chose music over our daughter. I sacrificed everything for you, Héctor, and you didn't deserve it. You _never_ came back. I have spent the second half of my life resenting you and using that resentment to build a life for our daughter. So you can't just show up here with that stupid grin and your stupid words expecting me to fall for you like I did all those years ago. I am _not_ the Imelda you fell in love with and through your actions, you've proven that you're not the Héctor I fell in love with either. I wanted nothing to do with you in life, and that remains true even now."

Imelda's voice was shaky by the time she finished her speech. Héctor could tell that she was on the verge of crying so he kept his mouth shut because if she cried in front of him she would just build up even more walls. He'd have to go about this carefully if ever wanted a chance to be with her again.

"I-I understand," Héctor said quietly. "I'll leave you be, then."

Héctor started to leave and took several steps away, but stopped to turned back and vow, "This isn't the last you'll see of me, Imelda. I will make things right."

And with his promise lingering in the air, he offered her a sad smile which she did not return. Héctor turned back and continued to walk away. Maria wrapped an arm around her daughter and began to turn her away from Héctor and out the other exit of the building. The last thing Imelda thought before Héctor left her sight was, _I truly wish that you could._

 **Dia De Los Muertos: Day of the Dead**

 **Ese Desgraciado: that disgraced man (it's a really bad thing to call someone)**

 **Cempasutchiil: Mexican Marigold/ Orange day of the dead flower**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

After Héctor left Imelda and her Mother at the Family Reunion Offices, the two women made their way into the Land of the Dead. Héctor wouldn't go on to see Imelda for another couple of weeks.

During that time, Imelda adjusted to life in the Land of the Dead. She was overwhelmed by how beautiful the place was; everything was so bright and colorful. The _alebrijes_ that flew around made her catch her breath in awe. Imelda didn't fear them for she knew that they were spirit guides and would not harm her despite the size that some of them grew to be.

Imelda's favorite thing to do was explore the Land of the Dead. She discovered that she was well known amongst her neighbors who all hailed from Santa Cecelia. Her shoes were everywhere in the Land of the Dead, as people buried their families in only the nicest of things. Maria was proud of her daughter for picking herself up and building a life for her and Coco in spite of the challenges she faced.

Everyone loved to hear the story of how she became a shoe maker, and Imelda would often joke, "Well, it was all thanks to my good for nothing husband who _abandoned_ our family! I lived in shame because of it for a couple of years, but then I said to myself: 'You know what? He isn't worth your tears! And what better way to get back at him than to prove to him that you don't need him in the first place!' and so I worked harder and harder to become better than he, a hopeless musician, would ever grow to be!'" The women in the Land of the Dead felt so empowered to hear how her business stemmed from spite towards a man and her popularity increased the longer she spent in the Land of the Dead. Soon people were greeting her excitedly as she walked down the streets to explore.

Others knew of her by her fearless attitude; right from the get go, Imelda was exploring the Land of the Dead while many of the newly dead were still cowering in their houses, unable to accept their deaths. People often gave her suggestions on what to explore next and it was on one of her expeditions that she became cornered by an alebrije…

Imelda was walking down a street, just a couple of blocks from _la plaza_ of the pueblo ( _La Plaza_ of a Mexican pueblo is sort of like the town square where there's a stage and usually a church and people gather to sell food and cool stuff. It's where the town events take place, like a Dia de los Muertos talent show and where the Musicians hung out in Coco. It literally translates to The Center of the Pueblo, although it doesn't necessarily have to be smack down in the middle). As she walked down the street, admiring the architecture of buildings styled from the 1800s, a familiar voice shouted her name from behind her.

Imelda turned and saw Héctor, waving his straw hat at her a couple of meters behind her. Imelda blanched and began walking as fast as she could to get away from him.

"Imelda!" Héctor shouted from behind her.

Imelda spotted an alley across a busy street, and so she crossed the street swiftly, hoping that she'd be lost in the crowd to Héctor. Across the street, Imelda ducked her head low and slid into the alley, hiding behind a couple of stacked crates and hoping that he wouldn't notice her. Imelda turned to face the back end of the alley and frowned. It was a dead end, she'd be cornered if he found her here.

"Imelda, where are you?!" Héctor shouted, passing the alley.

Imelda held her breath for several seconds before sighing in relief. He had not noticed her. Imelda moved from behind the crates to head back towards the street when she came face to face with a giant alebrije.

It was about the size of two horses put together, but seemed to weigh a lot more. It looked like a giant leopard and it stood, its wings out, blocking Imelda's escape from the alley.

" _Con permiso_ , alebrije," Imelda asked, making a step towards the alebrije and expecting it to kindly step aside for her.

Instead, the giant leopard took a menacing step closer to her, it's eyes fully dialated and fixated on her. Imelda took a nervous step back as the alebrije took another step towards her. The cat opened its mouth and Imelda yelped then foolishly ran to the other end of the alley where it swifly pinned her against the wall.

"Help!" Imelda screamed as the alebrije opened its wide mouth to show all of its sharp and pointy teeth.

Then, the giant animal stuck out its tongue and began to lick her! It licked her for a couple of seconds then took a couple of steps back and began to arch its back playfully. That's when Imelda got a better look at its eyes and she gasped the second she recognized them.

"Pepita?" Imelda grinned excitedly.

Was it indeed her childhood pet cat? The cat rolled around onto its belly, and Imelda cried out in joy before running to pet it.

"Oh, my precious kitty! Look at how big you are! I always knew you were fierce, my Pepita!" Imelda laughed as she stretched out to rub the cat's belly.

"Imelda?" Héctor's voice rang out.

Imelda shut her eyes tight and then glanced up at the entrance of the alley way where Héctor stood, his straw hat in his hands.

"I see you found Pepitita," Héctor grinned.

Imelda ignored him and stood up, brushing herself off. Then the cat rolled over back on its back before rushing Héctor. Imelda grinned as the cat pinned Héctor to the floor, but the smile fell from her face as she saw Héctor laughing as Pepita began to lick his face.

"You… know her?" Imelda asked cautiously.

"Sí!" Héctor laughed. "Pepita and I go way back!"

The cat got off of him and sat contentedly, watching Héctor make his way over to Imelda. "I remember you telling me about Pepita! It was one of the first things you told me about yourself, how you loved this cat so much! When I got here, I found her and she's been sticking around me, waiting for you! Well, sometimes… Pepita still has that habit to disappear for days but she always comes back when you need her."

Imelda smiled and stepped away from Héctor and towards the giant cat to pet it. She stepped on her toes to scratch its chin and it began to purr fondly. "Just like she did in life," Imelda smiled. Then she turned to Héctor and regarded him with cold eyes, "Did you bring her to me?"

Héctor twisted his hat in his hands and began to smile shyly. "Sí, I just thought it'd be nice-"

"I suppose I should thank you, then," Imelda sighed. She leaned back on her cat and giggled as the purrs vibrated her back. Then, half smiling, Imelda looked him in the eyes and earnestly said, "Thank you."

Héctor's ghost heart began to pound in his chest the second Imelda's musical giggle reached his ears. He looked at her and saw the nineteen year-old girl he fell in love with, and he himself suddenly felt eighteen again. When she looked into his eyes, he saw that she was looking at him with genuine appreciation instead of with disdain, and once again he saw the mother of his daughter, the strong and proud woman he was lucky to be married to. "Of course, Imelda, I would do anything for you."

Imelda rolled her eyes and turned back to her cat. "Except stay," she muttered angrily before turning back to pet her cat.

Héctor smacked himself on the forehead a little too loudly causing Imelda to pause for a second before carrying on in petting her alebrije, pretending not to hear. Héctor began to contemplate the situation he was in. He figured that she would not be willing to even hear an apology right now, but if he could ease her into spending more time with him, he was sure she'd be willing to down the road. But what could they do together? He couldn't play her music, that would shut her down too… What did they have in common now? Coco? Coco wasn't here and she wouldn't want to talk about Coco either. Rubbing his goatee, Héctor began to smile as he watched the alebrije lick her paw as Imelda pet her.

"Would you like me to show you how to ride Pepita?" Héctor's voice called out.

Her back to Héctor, Imelda continued to pet Pepita as she considered it. Riding Pepita? It was something she imagined when she was younger: she used to pretend that she was shrunk down to the size of a doll and would ride Pepita through Santa Cecilia. She smiled at this memory and took a step back to look at the giant cat before her. It just might be possible to ride her…

"I'm sure I could figure it out myself," Imelda shrugged, without looking at Héctor.

Héctor took several slow steps towards her, saying in a good natured manner, "C'mon, Imelda it took me almost three months to learn how to ride her as she walked and another four months to ride her in the air and I'm still perfecting some tricks with her! You'll love it-" Héctor stopped himself before he could add "I promise" knowing that, too, would set Imelda off.

Imelda pursed her lips, looking into the eyes of her precious Pepita. Riding Pepita while flying? Imelda could hardly wait to master it herself! _This is a stupid idea, Imelda. Don't do it…_ but Pepita looked at her with her fierce and playful eyes. She knew it would be an amazing experience to fly with Pepita….

"Fine," Imelda mumpled, turning to face Héctor. "When do we begin?"

"Now," grinned, Héctor.

Imelda's heart jolted at the sight of his smile, but her face remained indifferent. He made his way to the cat and she stepped out of the way and concentrated on remaining stoic if not hostile. Héctor began to pet Pepita and she rolled on her belly to be pet. Héctor reached over with both his hands to pet the giant cat, practically making fur angels on her. "That's a good girl, Pepita," Héctor smiled.

Imelda forced herself to glare as she watched the sweet interaction between Héctor and her beloved cat. Finally, Héctor stood and commanded, "Pepita, _abajo_!"

Obeying, Pepita lay down with her belly to the ground so that Héctor could climb on top of her. "Are you ready?" he turned to Imelda.

Imelda took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before replying, "I guess…"

Hector made his way to Pepita's shoulders and grabbed onto her back, heaving himself up and onto Pepita's back. Then he turned and offered a hand to Imelda. Upon seeing his outstretched hand, Imelda rolled her eyes and copied him, throwing her arms around Pepita's back and then heaving herself up onto the giant Cat. Once on Pepita's back, she grabbed Héctor's shoulders to steady herself before letting go as quick as possible.

Without looking at her, Héctor said over his shoulder, "Do you mind putting your arms around me so we can take off?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Imelda scoffed. She considered getting off for a moment, but shook her head. _I can do this without it meaning anything to me,_ Imelda told herself, _I am strong and I won't let him in again._

Begrudgingly, Imelda wrapped her arms around Héctor and scooted up closer to him so that her chest was touching his back.

"Pepita, _arriba!_ " Héctor commanded causing Pepita to run towards the end of the alley. Imelda yelped, thinking for a moment that they were going to crash into the crowd of people bustling about in the street, when Pepita leapt and her wings spread, taking them soaring far above the street. Eyes shut tight, and her face nestled into Héctor's back, Imelda took several breaths, trying to get used to the feeling of flying. She felt as if her alebrije was moving too fast, and each time the cat would flap her wings, it felt as if they were falling for a moment before Pepita's wings became straight again.

Once Pepita was at an acceptable height, she began to soar, holding her wings erect and letting the breeze guide them. This Imelda thought was more comfortable with. As she began to feel safer on Pepita she realized how close she was to Héctor and pushed herself back a little further.

Héctor turned back to her with a grin, "Fun, eh?"

Imelda surrendered a smile to him. "Yes," she admitted.

Héctor kicked a leg around Pepita so both legs were on one side, then turned so that he was straddling Pepita faced Imelda. He leaned back on Pepita's head, holding onto her fur to steady himself as the cat turned with the wind.

He watched Imelda who refused to meet his gaze, focusing instead on the beauty of the Land of the Dead from above. It was full of lights, and she could now see far beyond what she'd ever explored.

"It's beautiful, no?" Héctor smiled, watching Imelda.

Imelda nodded. "Sí."

"Th-thank you, for coming with me on Pepita," Héctor said through his shy smile.

Imelda glanced at his eyes and her heart stopped again. "I never stopped loving you Héctor, but I wanted to and I still want to stop loving you. You need to let me move on, there's nothing left of our romance. That died the day you stopped writing back."

Immediately, Héctor's shoulders slumped. He looked at her seriously, examining her face. He knew Imelda better than that and he knew when she was lying. "You say that, but you don't seem to mean it, Imelda." Imelda folded her arms and arched an angry eyebrow at Héctor. She didn't speak so Héctor continued, "You can't just wish to stop loving your _gran_ _amor_. I know that I will never stop loving you, you have had my heart since-"

"You know what Héctor?" Imelda rushed angrily. "Perhaps I would have forgiven you! Perhaps, if I hadn't stuck around to see my family after they died -I'm assuming you saw what Coco said to you once I had died? She was asking where _you_ were because she didn't want to be left alone and that was it for me. If you had come rushing in, in that moment, I would have waited here for you to be yours again. If Coco hadn't said that, maybe you'd have a chance in hell. I don't care that you left me, but our daughter needed you and you were nowhere."

"I was trying to get back to you, Imelda," Héctor pleaded. "I swear that I realized that family was the most important thing in the world while I was alive! I packed up my things and left Ernesto, but I got sick…"

"What do you mean?" Imelda asked, rolling her eyes.

"I, uh, I got food poisoning from eating Chorrizo," Héctor mumbled sheepishly.

Imelda bit her lip to keep from smiling. "Food poisoning from Chorrizo?" Imelda echoed.

Héctor could hear the laugh in her voice and rolled his eyes. "I know, I know, you warned me ' _No te comes esa comida de la calle,_ especially not the Chorrizo!" Héctor quoted his wife, imitating the exact inflections of her her tone when she told that to him all those years ago.

At this Imelda began to laugh. "It _is_ ironic, isn't it?" Of course it was chorizo to kill him, the exact example she had used the very first time he went out of town to a music festival without her when she was pregnant with Coco. The memory was such a sweet one that hearing him quote her caused a feeling of delight to bubble in her chest. But then it began to sink in… he had been trying to come home to them. And he let food poisoning stop him. Héctor watched as Imelda's expression went from almost happy to angry again and braced himself. "You let food poisoning get in the way of coming home to us?!" Imelda reached out and hit him in the arm angrily, "I told you _not_ to eat street food, especially not the chorizo!"

Héctor almost apologized but he knew it'd be meaningless to her right now. Instead, he remained silent, looking around at the Land of the Dead. Imelda glared at him angrily for several seconds. It was now that she noticed his strange attire for the first time. A straw hat, a purple vest and red ascot, the cacky pants.

"What on earth are you wearing?" Imelda asked.

Héctor looked himself up and down. "This? Ah, it's the first thing I could acquire after I gave up music down here. A new outfit is hard to come by, but a friend gave them to me before he disappeared so they didn't go with him…."

"You… gave up music?" Imelda whispered.

"Sí," Héctor nodded solemnly. "For almost twelve years now… it's just… I've been visiting you and Coco for almost twenty years now! And it didn't take me long to realize that you resented music and me, and that my love for _la_ _musica_ overwhelmed my love for you for just a moment and in that moment I lost everything. Once I realized that, it didn't take long for me to start resenting music. But I loved it so dearly for so long, that it took me a while to finally be rid of it. And then one year, when I hugged you, you didn't hum La Llorona. I saw that you had finally, truly left music behind you. So I decided it was time for me to leave music behind me and so I never played again after that day."

Imelda watched Héctor with a grim expression, for once her face was stoic without her forcing it to be in his presence. Héctor looked up to meet her eyes as she watched him, taking in what she said. He couldn't deny the hope that was crawling its way into his heart that he was making some progress, that he had made a dent in that armor that Imelda had put up against him. He had to show her that although she no longer believed that he was the Héctor she fell in love with, that version of himself was still there somewhere deep inside.

At that moment, Pepita conveniently made a roaring noise to signify that she was getting bored of just floating above the land of the dead. Imelda jumped and grabbed the cat tightly causing it to hiss so she let go and reached out to steady herself, grabbing onto Héctor's shoulders. Héctor imagined biting his tongue so as to prevent the wrong kind of smile from appearing on his face. He grabbed her arms gently in as platonic a way that he could, to help Imelda steady herself.

"Are you good?" Héctor asked in a good natured way.

 _No_ , Imelda thought. _Those feelings I've surpressed for you for so long are making themselves known again and I want it to stop._ Imelda nodded and sighed, "Yes."

"Here, let's take Pepita down for a drink at this river-" Héctor started.

"Pepita needs to drink?" Imelda asked, an eyebrow arched.

Héctor grinned sheepishly, as if he'd been caught in the middle of a lie."Eh… no…" Embers of anger began to glow dimly in Imelda's eyes so Héctor rushed quickly, "But Pepita loves to visit El Rio de Ensanada!" Upon hearing the name of the river, Pepita did a quick flip in the air, sending Imelda and Héctor flying for a moment before catching them. They landed exactly as they had been sitting on her just moments before.

"What was that?!" Imelda shot angrily at Héctor.

"Pepita loves going down to the river! C'mon, Imelda, I know you'll love it! And Pepita will too!" Héctor grinned, throwing his arms out in a "ta-da" manner.

Imelda exhaled slowly and with it the anger in her eyes began to dissipate. Héctor smiled internally that he had managed to accomplish this. Then, she began to focus on the sun that appeared close to setting and frowned. She did _not_ want to be near Héctor at a river during sunset. But Pepita turned back at her, a hopeful gleam in her eyes and Imelda couldn't deny her precious kitten this simple joy. "I suppose we can go… but not for long!" Imelda conceded.

Héctor almost let out a _grito_ in his excitement. Being with Imelda made him feel like himself again and he could feel the call of music for the first time in years. But then he remembered that he was a _musico_ no longer. He swallowed the _grito_ , and smiled at Imelda before turning and guiding Pepita towards the river.

"You're going to _love_ this, Imelda!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! So there are a couple of OC's in this chapter, don't worry, they're not going to be main characters (I'm not a fan of FF's with important OC's). I just need them to help me move along the plot and to bring Héctor and Imelda together where otherwise they wouldn't be hanging out (because Imelda is still pissed at him).**

 **Chapter 5: A Date at the River**

Imelda did indeed love the river. She couldn't get over the sheer beauty of the waterfall itself or the melodic sound it made as it splashed into the lagoon below. It almost reminded her of why she used to love music. Almost.

The clear, blue, _glowing_ water fell fifty feet from the mouth of the water fall into a lagoon that fed into the continuation of the river. Héctor and Imelda were not the only _muertos_ there –several families were also there enjoying the magical water. A couple of alebrijes were there too, some swimming and others peering at the families, keeping a watchful eye to ensure that all the spirits were safe.

A cool breeze blew a few strands of loose hair in Imeldas face as she watched Pepita splash and play in the base of the waterfall. She couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Her cat had always loved water, a strange quality for a cat, and seeing Pepita enjoy herself so warmed Imelda's cold heart.

Meanwhile, Héctor watched Imelda. He watched her eyes drift between the cat and the waterfall. Sometimes she would close her eyes as she listened to the music of the water, but she'd quickly catch herself and her eyes would snap open, cloudy for a second before she forced them back to clarity.

Seeing Imelda get swept away by the melody of the waterfall brought him back to a time when she was his. Héctor's heart longed for those days. He closed his eyes and he could still remember strumming his guitar gently and watching his wife.. _._

 _A young Imelda sat next to him, their knees touching, and she smiled at him. Her eyes were filled with fire and passion. She was a musica, he was a musico, and they were perfect for each other. He played the introduction to a song, his fingers moving swiftly and expertly on the guitar. His palms were slightly sweaty, something that didn't happen unless he was playing for Imelda alone. How strange that he could play in front of the whole of Santa Cecilia, but in front of this one woman, he became a nervous wreck. Nonetheless, Héctor was an expert at the guitar and even nerves and sweaty palms couldn't pull a single mistake from him._

 _His heart began to pound as the introduction ended and he held his breath as Imelda began to sing…_

 _"Ay de mi Llorona…" Chills went up his spine at hearing the sorrow in her voice, the way that she brought the song to life. "Llorona de azúl celeste…"_

 _It was his turn to sing, so he sucked in a breath, "Ay de miiii Llorona…" His heart swelled upon seeing Imelda close her eyes and smile at the way that he sang the "mi". He would slide the notes, sing it more powerfully, adding something of his own to the beautiful classic._

 _They continued to sing as he played the guitar, their voices melding into the saddest, most beautiful melodies…_

Frowning at this memory, Héctor contemplated the foreshadowment of the song. He sighed, thinking the last words to himself " _Y aunque la vida me cuesta, Llorona/ no dejare de quererte."_ They rang true to this day. No matter how dreary things got for him in life and the afterlife, he never stopped loving this woman and he never would.

Pepita spun in the air then belly flopped into the water causing Imelda to laugh loudly and heartily. The sound warmed Héctor's heart and it caught Pepita's attention. The cat's ears went up and she seemed to remember that she was at the river with the company of two _muertos_. So Pepita made her way back to the pair, shaking the water off of herself and wetting Héctor and Imelda once she reached them.

"Ay Pepita!" Imelda laughed, shaking her head and pretending to be mad through her smile.

Pepita brushed up against Imelda, then circled her and Héctor, brushing up against them and pushing them closer. Imelda's smile wavered, but she leaned back into the cat as it circled them as a housecat would circle and brush up against it's owner's legs. When Pepita was in front of them one more, she leaned forward, rearing her tail in the air in a pouncing stance. Her tail flicked unpredictably behind her as she became excited about something.

Imelda turned to Héctor, a confused eyebrow arched, "What?"

Héctor smiled, his golden tooth shimmering. "Ready Pepita?"

The _alebrije_ leapt over the pair and then lay with her belly touching the ground so that Héctor and Imelda could mount her once more. Héctor hopped onto Pepita and stretched out his hand to Imelda. Pursing her lips, Imelda merely raised her eyebrow before getting on Pepita for the second time without his assistance.

Grabbing onto Pepita's fur tightly with his ivory hands, Héctor grinned, "Go Pepita! _A la cascada!_ "

Pepita jumped twenty feet in the air, and then soared towards the mouth of the waterfall. She zoomed about half a mile away from the edge and then plummeted, splashing into the water. Imelda understood what was going on immediately and begrudgingly scooted in closer to Héctor to hold him tighter.

"Why am I worried that this is going to kill me?!" Imelda murmured, closing her eyes as they neared the mouth of the waterfall.

"Hahaha, you're only human!" Héctor chortled before they plummeted.

Imelda screamed in Héctor's ear so loudly that if he were still alive, he certainly would have suffered from hearing damage. However, Héctor was too focused on the feeling of her holding him tightly to notice; he smiled and laughed the entire way down.

Pepita opened her wings to break the fall, but drew them back in when they were about eight feet from the bottom of the river. They splashed into the water, and Pepita let the current take them down the river.

They were zooming, floating, nearly sixty kilometers per hour down the river back towards where those from Santa Cecilia resided. Imelda no longer screamed, but laughed at the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair. The water that splashed against her face felt as magical as the water looked. This, she decided, was better than flying.

The current slowed as the trio approached the neighborhood next to Santa Cecilia's; Santa Perpétua. There were many restaurants on the river side, lit with torches in the setting sun. _Papel picado_ streamed overhead with images of happy skulls and hearts cut into them. Because the river didn't cross through Santa Cecilia, they'd have to get off here.

As Pepita waded towards the river bank, Imelda caught her breath, mesmerized by the beauty of the river-city around her. She found herself thinking about how romantic it was and quickly remembered who she was there with. No sooner did Pepita hit the land and stop for them to get off, than Imelda leaped off, to get away from Héctor. This the _eskeleto_ noticed and he hopped off quickly to follow her, nervously plunging his hands into the pockets of his brown pants.

"Imelda, I-" Héctor started, his voice soft, genuine.

Imelda turned to him. Her eyes were cold but he could see something that resembled hope in the back of her eyes. Something that she didn't want him to see. So she blurted, "I have to go."

With that, Imelda spun and began to march away.

"Wait- When can we-" Héctor started.

Imelda squeezed her eyes shut but she saw his face, framed with that straight dark brown hair and that silly straw hat... _You're angry at him, remember. He betrayed you._ Imelda told herself. _Stay angry because if you're not angry you'll be sad. And if you're sad you'll be weak._ Imelda stopped, turned back and said, "I appreciate you bringing me Pepita but I already told you, _this_ cannot happen."

And with that she spun on her heel once again, marching away defiantly. Imelda hadn't taken but three steps when she once again heard "Imelda!" But the voice wasn't Héctor's; it was high pitched and sweet. It was the voice of a little girl.

"Doña Imelda!" the voice repeated.

Imelda froze and looked around to find the source of the voice. She glanced back to see Héctor pointing up, and there she saw little Rosalinda, on the balcony of one of the restaurants towards the end of the block.

Upon seeing her granddaughter's childhood best friend, tears welled into Imelda's eyes. "Rosalinda!" Imelda cried, stepping towards the young girl.

Rosalinda leaped over the balcony causing Imelda to scream. When she fell, she came apart; her head rolled off and her ribcage was tossed, sprawled away from her limbs that also fell off in different directions.

Panicking, Imelda ran to the young skeleton and watched in horror and awe as the girl put herself back together almost as quickly as she came apart. Rosalinda giggled as she ran up to Imelda and hugged her.

"Señora Rivera! How have you been?! When did you get here?!" Rosalinda cried, throwing her arms around Imelda.

"Oh, Rosa! I just got here a couple of weeks ago! I don't know why I didn't think to come look for you sooner!" Imelda cried, squeezing the little girl.

"How has Doña Socorro been? And Elena?!" Rosa smiled.

"Oh, they've missed you!" Imelda sighed.

Rosa pulled away from the hug and looked up at Imelda with a happy glint in her eyes, "I know. But I mean, between Dia de Los Muertos and now."

Imelda thought about this for a moment and admitted, "It's been hard on them. I got sick. It was hardest on Elena. But she'll put an altar for the both of us, this year."

At this, Rosa glanced past Imelda at Héctor, who stood watching them from a distance, rubbing his arm. "And Héctor?"

Imelda gritted her teeth but quickly forced the smile back onto her face. Rosa ran over to hug Héctor too. The two embraced for several long seconds before Rosa took his hand and dragged him over to Imelda. Imelda shook her head and sighed to herself. She couldn't deny how good he was with kids. If only he had been there for their daughter.

"You know, Sra. Rivera, Héctor really helped me adjust to being down here!" Rosa said softly. "I don't know how I would have gotten along without him."

Tears welled in Imelda's eyes as she nodded.

"I understand why you loved him," Rosa nodded, rocking back and forth, oblivious to Imelda's bulging eyes and Héctor's blush. "He is a really kind person and a great musician! He sang me to sleep every night we were together! Sometimes he cried, because it made him sad he couldn't sing to his own daughter every night. I wish he still sang…"

"Those days are behind me, Rosita," Héctor smiled.

"Still, when Coco and Elena come to us, I think you'll be able to fix everything with a song!" Rosa smiled, spinning around.

Imelda's heart was now heavy. She knew that her husband was a good man at heart. She knew he was kind and gentle and an amazing singer. She knew he regretted leaving them. But it wasn't enough. Besides, it was far easier to be angry than sad.

"Maybe he will," Imelda nodded to the girl.

"Rosalinda!" a voice called from the balcony.

Rosa turned for a second, and then smiled to the pair. "I think I have to go now… But do you think that maybe we could go to the _Feria de Santa Cecilia_ together _?_ It's almost her patron day, you know."

Biting her lip, Imelda contemplated this for a moment. Another day with Héctor… but Rosalinda would be there. "Don't you want to go with your family?" she asked gently.

Rosa turned up at the balcony. "They _never_ want to go anywhere! They're still getting used to it down here. Besides, they're only my second or third _Tias_ or something. My parents are still in the land of the living, so you're the closest thing I've got!"

Héctor rubbed his arm silently, but the bone on bone scratching was obvious in the silence. Meanwhile, Imelda shifted uncomfortably, refusing to meet Rosalinda's eyes. Sensing an imminent "no", Rosa pleaded, "Oh _please_ Señora Rivera? I know you don't like music but I haven't been to a _feria_ in so long! We don't need to be there that long! I just want to ride on a couple of rides and see-"

Rosa stopped mid sentence making eye contact with Héctor who gave the subtlest shake of head. Thankfully, this went unnoticed by Imelda who was still contemplating going to the _feria_. She looked into Rosa's eyes one more time and broke. She knew she couldn't deny this girl a couple of hours at a feria. She would have given anything to be able to do this when Rosalinda had recently died.

"Of course, Rosa," Imelda sighed.

Screeching in excitement –and startling Pepita who had been grooming herself quietly in the background- Rosa jumped up and hugged Héctor and Imelda. "Thank you so much! It's this Saturday! Don't forget it please?! Héctor knows where I live. I'll see you then!"

With this, Rosa dashed back into the restaurant.

"Guess it's a date-" Héctor added with a shy grin.

The pang in Imelda's ghost heart was too real so she just rolled her eyes in response. "I wouldn't bet on it." Addressing her cat, Imelda's tone changed from hostile to more gentle, "Come Pepita."

Pepita walked past Héctor to her rightful owner and followed Imelda away. Once the two reached the end of the block, Héctor shouted, "See you Saturday?"

He didn't see the tear roll down Imelda's cheek. All Héctor heard was a strong "Sí" in response.

* * *

Leaning over the balcony, Santiago's eyes narrowed as he saw Rosalinda hug what seemed to be Héctor Rivera and a woman in the street. After their embrace, the young _esqueleta_ ran back into the restaurant on her way back to their table.

Santiago put on a charming smile and turned back to Rosalinda's Tía Chucha. "She's fine, just saw an acquaintance." He took his place at their table next to Chucha, a guest at the Gutierrez family dinner. He was there with Chucha Gutierrez, an aunt of Rosalinda Gutierrez, but not the one the young girl was staying with.

Rosalinda's head popped up as she made it up the stairs and onto the balcony.

An older woman scolded, "What have I told you about jumping off buildings?"

The young girl looked down, "Sorry Tía Maria."

"Who were those people you were talking to?" Santiago asked casually, taking a sip of wine.

Rosalinda's eyes lit up and she smiled. "Héctor and Imelda Rivera!" She turned to her elderly aunt, "You know, the one who I stayed with until you arrived?"

Santiago almost choked on the wine at the mention of Imelda Rivera but sucked it in and tried to act casual.

"Speaking of which," Rosa added in her sweet voice, "Do you think I can maybe go to the _feria_ with Héctor and Imelda? They said they'd take me if it's okay with you!"

Tía Maria smiled gently, "Of course, mi amor. As long as you stay with them."

Rosalinda wriggled contentedly in her seat. Meanwhile, Santiago took one last sip of his wine before standing. He turned to Chucha, squeezed her handm and then told the Gutierrez family, "Speaking of _la feria_ , I just remembered that I still have some things for work that I need done soon. I must go now, but I thank you for your hospitality."

And with that he left the Gutierrez family to speed down the stairs. He knew this information would bring him a hearty reward from Ernesto de la Cruz.

 **Feria=fair**

 **esqueleta/esqueleto= skeleton**

 **muertos= dead people**

 **A la cascada= to the waterfall**

 **P.S Rosalinda in this is NOT related to Miguel's Tia Rosa. She'll come later in the story ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Buenas Tardes, buenas noches Señoritas y Señores! It brings me joy, que alegría to bring you this A/N: So this chapter is late because of school and also it was hard to write. I realized I want the story to go in a different direction after I led up and published the previous chapters, but don't worry! I fixed it! In any case, let me know what you think about this chapter. I'm excited for the next one but I wasn't too enthusiastic about this one but I feel pretty good about it. Hope it doesn't seem like filler to you because I really wanted it to have a place in the story even if I'm shifting gears.**

 **Chapter 6: La Fiesta de Santa Cecilia**

Imelda nervously paced her room shortly before six in the evening. Héctor and Rosalinda would be there soon to head over to La Feria de Santa Cecelia together. She was ready, she had been for the past hour. Her hair was tied back tightly, her dress washed and ironed, her shoes shined. She had recently gotten some make up to add to her _calavera_ face so now she had purple petals painted around her eyes and wine colored lipstick where her lips used to be to make her look more human.

She couldn't deny the strange feelings that were waking up inside of her. Héctor had been handling things remarkably well; he hadn't pressed her for more than she was willing to give and he had been so considerate when they spent the day with Pepita. Héctor wanted to fix things, she could tell he wanted to fix things so badly… but what did she feel? There was a part of her that would never ever stop loving him, a part of her that to this day still ached to feel his arms around her. But there was a stronger part of her that was still furious at him for leaving her, and rightfully so.

Still, Imelda couldn't deny that the part of her she thought she'd killed, the part that was still in love with Héctor Rivera was screaming in her now louder than ever. And last week with Pepita only made things worse. Nonetheless, Imelda was determined to keep her cool. For Coco's sake, for Elena's, for Victoria's, for Julio's… The man just left his wife and daughter, writing letters only until he forgot them. He had broken all his promises to her. He had broken her heart and it broke over and over again each time she'd find reason to believe he'd be coming home only to remember that she'd been forgotten. Until Héctor proved himself to be truly worthy of their forgiveness, she couldn't dare think about letting him back into their lives…

 _I need an explanation._ Imelda's foolish heart told herself. _But before that I need him to prove that he's genuinely sorry and changed and not the monster I've convinced myself he was._ After all, it was apparent that he'd been dead for most of Coco's life which meant that perhaps, if he had lived, perhaps, he would have come home. But Imelda couldn't live in the "maybe". Héctor had to prove himself genuinely changed before he got the chance to explain himself because if he had a good explanation she'd be forced to forgive him. At least this way forgiveness would be her choice….

She heard them arrive before she saw them. A little girl's laughter down the road, as Héctor told her one of his stories. Imelda grabbed her bag from where it was hanging and started down the stairs uneasily.

The door knocked, Imelda swallowed and hurried down the stairs.

"Señora Imelda, are you there?" Rosalinda called, but she was quickly hushed by Héctor.

Ghost heart hammering in her chest, Imelda forced herself to reply calmly, " _Voy_!"

She made it to the door, inhaled one last time, then opened it with a charming smile.

"Señora Imelda!" Rosalinda grinned, throwing her arms around Imelda. "Thank you so much for agreeing to take me tonight!"

Imelda smiled fondly and looked down at the little girl, brushing her hair gently with her hand. "Of course, Rosita."

"Sh-shall we go?" Héctor asked shyly.

Imelda looked up and almost drew in her breath. Héctor had also painted his face for the occasion, his signature yellow feathers now drawn prominently onto his cheeks, green squiggles on his chin and a pattern on his forehead obscured by his dark brown hair. His chocolate eyes hit her like a ton of bricks as usual and it was as if it were her first time seeing him in years. He was smiling shyly, a golden tooth peering through and Imelda's heart broke at how much she wanted him but couldn't have him. She would not give in.

"Yes." Imelda nodded confidently, stepping out and closing the door behind her. Just before she closed the door, Imelda paused and shouted in: " _Ya voy, Mamá_!"

"Wait!" an elderly woman hollered back.

Imelda's face paled and she stepped over to stand next to Rosalinda and face the door. Slowly, the door creaked open once more and Imelda's mother, María, was facing out.

Maria did not hesitate nor waste a minute. The second she stepped out, she glanced at the empty street suspiciously, then reached out to grab Héctor by his freshly trimmed beard and pulled him down so their faces were level. Imelda's hand flew to her mouth in horror.

"I know your plan Señor! I knew you weren't good for her from the start! _Un musico_?! Bah, I don't know _how_ I let her marry you in the first place, but get this straight! You try anything, you have _me_ to answer to!" Maria growled, her voice the strongest and angriest Imelda had ever heard it.

Héctor palled and Imelda absolutely wanted to die, but then Rosita burst out giggling and the sight of her mother intimidating the man she used to love made a smile sneak onto Imelda's face. She was proud of her mother and also amused by the shock and terror on Héctor's face. He had finally come across someone who wouldn't give into his charm.

"S-sí Señora," Héctor nodded.

Releasing Héctor, Maria turned to Imelda and blew her daughter a kiss. "Have fun mija!" Maria waved before letting herself back in.

The second Maria was out of earshot, Imelda caved into Rosalinda's hysterical laughter and she too began to giggle as the young girl made fun of Héctor for being afraid of an elderly woman.

"You remember that time we fell into the underground rivers and we had to wait for the police to find us?!" Rosalinda laughed. "You weren't even that scared _then!_ "

The trio made their way over to the Plaza where Imelda gasped in awe and terror. The rides were absolutely insane. Because there was no longer much of a need for safety, the rollercoasters all looked very dangerous; some even flew off the tracks as the grand finale. There were countless people packing the giant plaza which seemed to have stretched for the event. The lights were dazzling and in the sunset _La Feria_ looked absolutely haunting and magical.

Rosalinda grabbed Héctor and Imelda's hands and started dragging them forward towards the ride she wanted to go on. At one point they had to squeeze through the crowd causing Imelda to smash her shoulder into Héctor's chest. His eyes met hers as she blushed an apology. He smiled gently and told her not to worry about it. He didn't miss the way she rolled her eyes in response but he believed it to be because she was disgusted by him. He didn't realize she was embarrassed that she'd let herself blush in front of him.

Héctor and Rosalinda rode on most the rides together. Imelda was not exactly the roller coaster type of person in life or in death and she was content to watch Rosalinda have fun. She liked watching them speed through the rickety tracks screaming and laughing. Héctor's laugh stood out from all the others, and rang in her ears the loudest. Suddenly, one of his shouts reminded Imelda his _gritos_ and she found herself transported to the past…

 _A very pregnant Imelda stood at the front row of the audience as Héctor and Ernesto began to play in the plaza of Santa Cecilia._

 _People were chatting and drinking and having a good time but Imelda's eyes were glued to her husband who opened his guitar case and pulled out his beautiful white guitar that had been specially made for him in Michoacan. Meanwhile, Ernesto was arranging the microphones to the correct position and then he pulled out his mass-produced black guitar._

 _The second Héctor struck the guitar, and began plucking the intro to Poco Loco, the crowd went silent. Imelda's heart melted at the sound of her husband's intricate plucking of the guitar strings making such a simple song complex and beautiful._

 _Ernesto, holding his guitar with his left hand and the microphone with his right, began to sing, "What color is the sky, ay mi amor, ay mi amor? You tell me that it's red, ay mi amor, ay mi amor…"_

 _Imelda laughed listening to Ernesto sing. He sang it very well, but not exactly the way Héctor had intended for it to be sung when he had written it. Imelda's laughing caught Ernesto's attention and his eyes narrowed at her playfully. Imelda rolled her eyes, still laughing, and focused on her husband who was smiling and playing the guitar._

 _"I'll count it as a blessing… that I'm only un Poco Loco," Ernesto belted in a vibrato._

 _The crowd cheered at Erenesto's powerful voice and Héctor's expert playing. Then, the gears switched and Ernesto began to strum his guitar along with Héctors. He was now playing the simple background so that Héctor could do the even more complicated accompaniment. But before the song came to showcase Héctor's true talents, his eyes locked with Imelda's and he grinned._

 _He slid the guitar to his side, forcing Ernesto to repeat the simple part on a loop, and he rushed to the edge of the stage where he reached out for Imelda. Imelda blushed as the crowd cheered._

 _"C'mon mi amor, una vez más." Héctor grinned._

 _Imelda glanced over at their best friend Erenesto who was watching them with a genuine smile. "Dale Imelda, C'mon!" Ernesto shouted as he continued to strum the guitar._

 _Sighing, Imelda reached out and let her husband pull her onstage. The pueblo screamed in excitement to see the trio reunited onstage for the first time in months._

 _Héctor began to play the complicated part as Imelda danced and laughed on stage._

 _"The Loco that you make me es just un poco crazy," Héctor sang to her._

 _Imelda spun and danced, making it known to the whole pueblo that she was the one that made Héctor crazy. Héctor began to shout his gritos as Imelda danced causing her to laugh even more._

 _Finally, she pitched in for the last part of the song and sucked in her breath to sing with Héctor and Ernesto, "Un Pocititititi-tititititititi-to loco!"_

 _The crowd erupted in cheers as their harmonies echoed from her ears. Héctor pulled Imelda close to him by her waist and she glanced up at him, their hearts poundings, both breathing deeply to catch their breath-_

"Imelda?" Héctor asked, waving his hat in front of her eyes.

Imelda blinked and her eyes focused on Héctor smiling sheepishly at her. Her jaw dropped as she scrambed for something to say. Héctor, sensing this, pointed towards Rosalinda. "She wants to go on the teacups now."

Walking to the teacups ride was painful for Imelda who felt as if Héctor knew what she was thinking. He kept glancing at her with a look like he was trying to figure out what was going through her mind. Or maybe it was just her imagination.

When they made it to the line, Rosalinda found a group of friends around her age in line who called her to join them.

"Do you mind if I take this ride with them?" Rosalinda begged.

Héctor turned to Imelda who nodded kindly. Rosalinda smiled and ran to her friends.

Once they saw that Rosalinda had safely made it in line with her friends, Héctor turned to Imelda and softly said, "It happens to me too."

Imelda blinked and her eyes focused on Héctor. "What?"

"Memories. They take over sometimes and you're just frozen living in the past… it happens to me too." Héctor said.

Imelda looked to the ground to avoid his eyes. "Oh."

"Can I ask what you were thinking about?" Héctor asked gently.

Imelda glanced up at her husband. He looked so genuine, but also so reserved. Part of her didn't want to tell him, but another part wanted to see how he would take it. She wanted to see him hurt at the beautiful memory as she did, but she didn't want him remembering how deeply in love with him she was. Finally she gave in and sighed, "One of your screams on the ride reminded me of the last time I was onstage with you and Ernesto." Héctor's eyes hardened causing Imelda to raise her eyebrows. "What?"

Héctor bit his lip and muttered angrily, "Just Ernesto…"

"Made a name for himself with your songs?" Imelda finished.

Héctor shook his head. "No. I don't care about that. I did for a long time but then I realized that I'd have just handed him over my songs from the beginning if I'd have known that's how it was going to go… it's just… I wasn't really destined to be like him. If I had accepted that from the beginning, if I had listened to you, I never would have gone. I'm mad at him because he convinced me to go."

Imelda swallowed and tears welled into her eyes. They were hot tears, they were angry tears, they were happy tears. She couldn't distinguish one feeling from the other.

Héctor's eyes grew soft at the sight of Imelda crying and he gently reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. "Imelda, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry- I didn't mean to bring that up- please… I've been working so hard at being careful around you, Imelda. I want to make things right with you. You don't have to take me back, ever. Of course, I will wait forever for you. No matter what, I will wait forever for the slim chance that one day you'll find it in your heart to love me again. But right now I'm begging you for a chance to let me make things right with you."

Imelda stepped back and dried her eyes, smudging her make-up slightly. She glanced up at his eyes and sighed, "Héctor, it's not that simple! If it were up to me, I might have forgiven you. But like I said before, it's Coco, it's Julio, it's Elena and Victoria… I- I can't just let you back into our family until I am sure you won't tear it apart again, Héctor. I can't just forgive you now and then find out that Coco resents you. Then I will have to side with her and I couldn't take-" she stopped herself before she said _being separated from you again_ , swallowed, and finished, "I couldn't take that again."

Héctor looked down grimly and nodded. "I accept that. It's up to Coco then."

Imelda nodded.

Héctor raised his hand to his chin. "So you're saying that if Coco forgives me, then I might have a chance?"

Imelda bit her lips. That seemed too simple. After more twenty-plus years of resenting him, she couldn't just give him that chance so easily. But there was something in his eyes, something that reminded her why she fell in love with him in the first place. Imelda sighed with a nod, "And Julio and Elena and Victoria. If that's what they want… then… then I'll consider it…"

Héctor grinned, "How about Coco to start?"

Once again her heart was torn open by Héctor's grin and she found herself almost unable to resist his charm. Suddenly, Héctor lurched forward and his mouth was on hers. Shouting, Imelda leaped back and slapped him across the face causing his head to spin.

"I can't believe you just did that," Imelda spat angrily. "And right when I was beginning to- ugh!"

Héctor's eyes widened in shock and his hand shakily flew to his lips. "Imelda I-"

Glaring at Héctor with all the hatred she could muster, Imelda ran away leaving him staring after her, stunned.

Héctor gaped after Imelda, seeing her disappear into the crowd. His heart was broken. That's not how their first kiss in the afterlife should have gone. Suddenly, Héctor's fists clenched and he turned around angrily to see who had bumped into him causing him to fall forward and kiss Imelda. But whoever it was was long gone. And they had ruined everything.

* * *

Santiago peered up at the burgundy doors before him. They were bordered with gold to match the handles. The secretary knocked twice before opening the door to let Santiago in.

Taking a deep breath, Santiago entered the private offices of Ernesto De la Cruz. Ernesto sat on an elegant Spanish-style wooden chair, back straight as an arrow as he faced the door awaiting Santiago.

"S-señor D-de La Cruz?" Santiago greeted nervously.

"Welcome, welcome, Santiago!" Ernesto smiled in his charming manner. "Come, sit, sit, can I get you anything?"

Eyes shifting around the room, Santiago gave the slightest shake of his head.

"Nonsense!" Ernesto guffawed, "Jane, get us some of the good wine. I have the feeling Santiago has brought me some good news."

The secretary nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Glancing at Santiago with menacing eyes but a charming smile, Ernesto asked, "You do have good news for me, right?"

"S-sí Señor," Santiago nodded.

Ernesto waited a beat for Santiago to elaborated but when the smaller man said nothing, he sighed, exhasperated. "Well, get on with it! What happened?"  
"I-I followed the pair as you said. They went to la Feria de Santa Cecilia with a young girl. Anyways, Imelda has not yet warmed up to him. But I could tell that she was beginning to. Then they began to talk about you-" Santiago froze as Ernesto's eyes grew murderous. He pretended not to notice and continued, "Just about how the three of you were friends. I-Imelda accused you of stealing his songs-"

"Bah! The liar! He's always been jealous of me,"Ernesto growled. "Continue."

"Well- then he began to talk about how much he regretted leaving and Imelda began to sob. But she seemed… she seemed close to forgiving him in that moment. He asked her for a chance to prove himself and she said yes so I shoved him, pushing him by the shoulders forward so it would seem as if he were trying to kiss her… but I must have pushed too hard because then he actually kissed her…"

At this Ernesto laughed causing Santiago to scratch his head and chuckle along nervously. Suddenly, the singer stopped and stared straight at Santiago, "I'm hoping for your sake this story get good. Fast."

"Sí Señor," Santiago rushed, "Imelda got so upset that she screamed at him never to talk to her again and she ran off. He didn't follow, and he's been giving her some space so I think the situation has been diffused for now."

Ernesto stretched back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His eyes settled on a portrait of him on the other side of the room. He stood tall, proud, invincible. And he smiled at the portrait.

"Excellent," Ernesto finally nodded as he concluded his pondering. "Looks like you'll just need to keep an eye on them for the time being. Keep them apart."

Santiago nodded dutifully. He glanced up at Ernesto who was now smiling contentedly and asked soflty, "S-Señor De La Cruz, is it true what she said? About you stealing Héctor Rivera's songs?"

Just then, there were two knocks on the door and Ernesto's secretary walked in with wine and two glasses. She set them on the glass table near the door, under Ernesto's portrait and faced her boss.

"Jane, change of plans. Call in my bodyguards immediately. We have a mess to clean up."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoy! Oh, the Page-breaks signal when the perspective changes from Imelda's to Héctor's and vise-versa. Be sure to leave a review please and thank you!**

 **Chapter Seven**

Several months passed before Imelda spoke to Héctor again. A couple of weeks after the incident at _La Feria_ , Héctor appeared at her house and tried to apologize and explain what had happened but the second Imelda opened the door and saw it was him, she slammed it shut and ran up to her room. She could hear him calling her from her room which had a balcony above the front door.

"Imelda, I am so sorry, it was an accident, I swear. Please just let me explain!" Héctor shouted up towards the balcony, but Imelda lay face down on her bed with a pillow over her head to muffle out the sound.

She reflected on how foolish it had been for her to allow herself to acknowledge her feelings for Héctor. After he begged her to hear him out from the balcony, she locked away her feelings for him as she should have done from the very start.

She knew that he would follow her to the Mercado sometimes to catch her attention and pretend it was mere chance that they found themselves in the same place. He would do silly things like knock a cart over clumsily or make corny jokes in an effort to make her laugh and start a conversation. It almost reminded her of how he acted when he was trying to get her to notice him back when they were teens but this time his efforts were for naught. Imelda would not budge. Instead she replayed the moment she realized he was never coming back in her head over and over again until every time she saw his face, she would feel nothing but heartbreak and anger.

She kept this up for months and grew close to mastering herself but as Día De Los Muertos rolled around, she grew apprehensive. María would not be able to cross the bridge as there were no photos or relics of hers left on an altar, meaning Imelda could not cross the bridge with her mother. And although the idea of seeing and embracing her daughter and family again brought her so much joy, she knew she wouldn't be crossing the _cempazutchil_ bridge alone which made Imelda apprehensive.

Héctor, too, would be on Coco's secret altar meaning that they were scheduled to visit the same place on the same night. The most magical night of the year, in fact.

At first, Imelda planned to use the night to hurt Héctor as he had hurt her. She wanted to completely ignore him or perhaps lead him on and then crush him. But as the months went by, her anger faded and she decided that she just wanted Héctor out of her life. She decided that if she remained polite but distant, Héctor would get the message. He would soon realize that Imelda did not want anything to do with him and would leave her alone.

Héctor, on the other hand, had been eagerly planning Día de Los Muertos. He knew it would be his only chance to get back on talking terms with Imelda at the very least. From there he could work his way back into being almost friends with her, as he considered them to be just before it had all gone wrong. Throwing exasperated arms in the air, Héctor remembered how she had even laughed with him a couple of times! How he longed to hear her laughter ring in his ears once more…

Héctor decided to show up looking as nice as he could for Dia de los Muertos. He repainted his face for the occasion, ironed his khaki pants and purple shirt, and polished his black shoes. He kept his hair the same, his signature look, and the one Imelda had fallen in love with, although he decided to swap in his straw hat for a real sombrero for the night.

Imelda, too, was prepared for the evening. She wanted to look her best to see her family again, even though they wouldn't be able to see her. She colored her lips again and repainted her face. She added black lace to her dress and replaced the heels on her boots so that they would make the satisfying _click clack_ noise with every step. She brushed out her hair and tied it back again. She considered putting on blush as she'd seen other _esqueletas_ do, but decided to stick with just her make-up.

At last, Imelda looked herself over in the mirror and smiled. She still wasn't entirely used to seeing herself as a skeleton, but at least now she didn't have wrinkles. The only things that gave away her age was her voice and the stripes of gray in her hair.

 _Not bad for a dead girl_ Imelda thought to herself, spinning in front of the mirror. Then a certain dead guy crossed her mind. For a moment, she considered whether he'd notice how pretty she looked. As quick as the thought fluttered into her mind, Imelda locked it away and grew serious.

The sun was setting so Imelda made her way to the lines to cross the bridge along with Pepita who had shown up the night before, eager to accompany Imelda home. As they walked over to the bridge to Santa Cecilia (Pepita wouldn't let Imelda ride her for some reason), Imelda noticed that there were hundreds of others walking the same path. Upon reaching the line to cross the border into the human world, Imelda realized that the number of people heading to Santa Cecilia was actually in the thousands.

She looked around to see everyone's faces were beautifully painted like the Calaveras she'd seen around town growing up. Families held hands eagerly, people laughed and sang, it seemed like such a warm holiday… and it only reminded Imelda that she was alone.

As if on cue, Imelda soon heard the gentle voice of Héctor call, "Imelda!"

She turned to see him waving a sombrero at him. The second she saw him, the feeling of him abandoning her hit her again and she did not have to force herself not to smile. She had to force herself not to frown, not to roll her eyes, not to get as far as she could away from him.

Héctor comically shoved his way through the crowd to get over to her and when he met up with her, he beamed.

"Since we're headed the same way, I was wondering if I might accompany you?" Héctor asked nervously, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Instead of looking at the ground, Imelda stared into his eyes stoically. "I don't suppose there's any stopping you?"

At this Héctor stopped and his grin faded a bit. "I wouldn't if it'd bother you, Imelda," Héctor added gently.

She hadn't been expecting him to give in that easily. But at the same time she saw there was no sense in making her walk apart from her if they were going to the same place. So she decided to leave it up to him and sighed, "I genuinely don't care either way."

Héctor didn't hesitate. His face lit up again, causing Imelda to wonder whether she made the right choice, and he grinned, "I'll go with you then."

He was respectfully silent as the waited in line. Imelda was both grateful for the silence but also found it to be painfully awkward. Thankfully the line was fast moving and they were soon near the front. Imelda caught a glance of what seemed to be people walking up to get their picture taken before being allowed to cross the bridge.

Confusion was clear on her face, so Héctor coughed to ask for permission to speak. When she didn't glare at him, he explained "They're getting their faces matched to pictures on _ofrendas_. No picture, no pass."

Just as he said it, Imelda watched as a chubby _esqueleto_ smiled nervously for his face to be matched. There was a flash, then a brutal low beeping noise.

"Sorry," the attendant said, "Looks like you're not on any _ofrendas_ this year."

The man, slowly put his hat back on and stepped back so that his partner, a chubbier woman could get her face matched. After the flash, the low beeping hissed again and the woman began to sob into the man's shoulder.

"Why didn't he put up our picture this year?!" She cried as he led her back into the land of the dead.

Suddenly, Imelda became very nervous, as they were only five people away from the front of the line. She turned to Héctor, looking at his shoulder and not his eyes, and whispered, "Are you absolutely certain Coco put up a picture of us?"  
Héctor looked down at her, trying to capture her eyes with his. When he finally succeeded, he saw that her dark eyes were indeed full of worry. He smiled gently, "I'm certain, Imelda."

Upon hearing him say her name, Imelda turned back to the front of the line so she wouldn't have to look at him a moment longer. She was certain that'd be all it would take to ruin her progress.

Imelda was next, she walked up to the scanner and smiled as it flashed. She held her breath and there was a high pitched ding.

"Looks like you're on your family's _ofrenda_ , Señora Imelda! And quite a few others, looks like your regular customers have you up. The Ramirez family, the Godinez, the Velasquez, the Lopez, the Hernandez and a few more all have you up!" The attendant, a female _esqueleta_ with a very kind voice, informed Imelda.

"Thank you," Imelda nodded as she stepped away from the platform on which faces were scanned and onto what seemed to be a floor made entirely of _cempazutchil_ petals.

The second she stepped across, she could hear the cheerful music coming from the cemetery. She could hear the village kids' screaming and laughing as they played tag. She could almost distinguish her neighbor's voices. She closed her eyes, letting herself focus on the sound.

"Looks like you're on your daughter's _ofrenda_ Héctor! Enjoy your trip!"

Imelda's heart sunk as she remembered who she was with and she turned to see Héctor walk across. Suddenly, there was a shadow above them and Imelda looked up to see Pepita circling them, coming lower and lower until she landed right next to Imelda.

"You get to come too?!" Imelda laughed, throwing her arms around the giant alebrije.

It purred in response and Héctor took several cautious steps forward to pet Pepita away from where Imelda was.

The trio made it to the base of the bridge where Imelda staggered unsteadily and caught herself on Pepita.

"Th-this doesn't feel very stable…" Imelda murmured recalling her trip into the Land of the Dead for the first time.

Héctor offered her his arm and said, "It's a little daunting at first but you'll get used to it."

Imelda glanced at his arm, covered by his dark purple shirt that was now rolled down all the way. It did actually fit him well. His bone hands were faced up, and she saw that his fingers were long and thin. She remembered how well they felt intertwined with hers…

Catching herself, Imelda rolled her eyes and forced herself, unsteadily up the bridge. When they made it to the top, Imelda could see hundreds of bridges on either side of her leading people back to their families, back to their homes.

 _Cempazutchil_ petals danced in the air and the sound of mariachis was a warm sound in Imelda's ears. She hurried down the rest of the bridge and the music, the chatter, the laughter, the warmth got louder.

Imelda stopped at the base of the bridge, breathless as she faced what seemed to be the veil separating her world from the living world. Pepita zoomed leapt across and turned into a small black cat, Imelda's black cat that she grew up with.

"Pepita!" Imelda squealed, starting across.

But Héctor caught her hand. Her eyes narrowed at him but it was too late, they crossed the veil together and for a flash of three seconds, he was no longer an _esqueleto._ She was his charming young husband as she had last seen him, looking twenty-two at the oldest. His face was long and thin, his cheeks flushed, his skin tan. She glanced at their entertwined hands and saw that her hand also looked human. She realized he must have been looking at a far older Imelda and let go. The second she released his hand, they flashed back to the skeleton version of themselves.

Imelda grabbed onto a nearby tomb stone, doubled over, breathing heavily.

"Imelda!" Héctor called surprised, reaching out to help her.

The second his hands touched her shoulder and back, Imelda slapped him away. "What the hell was that?!" she hissed.

"I-I just," Héctor stammered.

Imelda could see a faint glow around him and if she stared for long enough, she could see that the glow was where his skin used to be. If she squinted, she could see him very faintly as the human version of himself.

As she raised her own glowing hand to examine it, Héctor mumbled, "It won't happen again, I'm sorry."

Her eyes flashed back up to him and she scowled then turned to follow Pepita who was taking off in the direction of her home.

As Imelda followed her cat, she glanced around the cemetery curious as to which gravestone was hers. Héctor's footsteps behind her made her wonder where his was. It wasn't the first time she'd contemplated this.

The cemetery west of la Plaza de Santa Cecelia, but the Rivera home was slightly north of the plaza, practically bordering it. Pepita led them towards the plaza while Imelda relished walking in her hometown once again. Her heels made the comforting _click clack_ noise she'd grown up hearing. A living girl up ahead was walking alone. She glanced back anxiously several times and Imelda wondered if the girl could hear her footsteps too.

"I miss this place," Héctor said softly from behind her.

Imelda ignored him and kept walking to the Plaza. At the Plaza, Imelda's heart grew full as she remembered her entire life in Santa Cecelia. She looked up at the church steeple, and laughed with glee as it's familiar bells rang six o'clock.

Pepita was lost in the crowd now that she had shown them the way, so Imelda took the longer route, passing through the market stalls. A few were still open, including the little old lady who sold fresh steamed milk every night for all Imelda's life. She walked up to the woman and looked her over, smiling and longing for a sip of the freshest milk in town.

"I hope she still thinks of me," Imelda said, smiling fondly at the woman who she used to have nice chats with every now and again.

Imelda walked away while Héctor stopped, glancing at the old woman sadly. "You're impossible to forget," he murmured softly.

Imelda carried on, pretending not to hear, and began walking towards her house. The farther she got from the Plaza, the faster she walked. When she rounded the corner and her home came into view, Imelda started to run, tears streaming down her face.

Héctor followed her at a normal pace to give her space, stopping several feet behind her when she stopped in front of the house. They stood for several long minutes outside while Imelda stared in through the wide open door.

It looked warm inside, and she could see the bright dining room just past the dark shop. There was something especially bright in the dining room, something calling to her. She could hear Victoria and Julio upstairs, Coco cooking in the kitchen.

Curious, Imelda stepped slowly through the threshold of the door. Instantly, her surroundings grew brighter and her heart felt full. She was home.

Imelda made her way through the workshop into living room and smiled that nothing had changed. She could hear Coco to her right, in the kitchen, but something drew her left into the dining room. There was a dim, flickering light, in a corner of the otherwise dark dining room. Imelda stepped in to find the table nicely set, but in the corner of the dining room, lit by candle light was an _ofrenda_ all for her.

Hand pressed to her mouth, Imelda admired the _ofrenda_. Tears slid down her cheeks as she realized how much work her family must have put into this. An arch of _cempazutchiles_ was woven to crown her image. Pan de Muerto was arranged carefully in a semi-circle around the floor, her shoes in the middle of the circle. Her favorite deserts were also within the semicircle, including a cup of steaming milk. Gold coins were also scattered about, but the table with her favorite meal remained empty. That must be what Coco was cooking…

* * *

Héctor waited outside for several minutes, letting Imleda take in the house alone. It was a… difficult… experience returning home after death. Although he knew it would go more smoothly for Imelda than it did for him, he still recalled that there was something very intimate about returning as a spirit. Something he could have only grasped alone. Also, he didn't want to push his boundaries with Imelda.

After waiting a good five minutes, Héctor couldn't restrain himself any longer. The setting sun reminded him that he only had so little time to spend with his family. The retired _musico_ went inside his old home and glanced up the stairs towards Coco's room. He knew her ofrenda was calling him, and he could feel it tugging on his heart like a magnet, but by now he was practiced enough to go straight to his daughter first. Dodging desks in the workshop, Héctor turned right in the living room to find Imelda embracing their daughter, tears streaming down her face.

"You're, ah, still here?" Héctor blurted before he could catch himself.

"Of course I am," Imelda sobbed. "I haven't seen my daughter in months! I'm dead, and she's alive and I won't be able to hug her or speak to her until she dies. And I hope that's not for a very long time, but I can't wait either..."

Stepping away from Coco, Imelda pressed her hand to her mouth to control her sobs. "It's torture to see her, to be with her, but to not have her even acknowledge me!"

Héctor frowned. "All is not lost, Imelda."

He took several slow steps to his daughter, his ghost heart pounding. She was stirring the _Caldo de R_ ez slowly, tears streaming down her face. Héctor smiled at the sight of his beautiful, talented, amazing daughter's face and he reached out his bony hand to gently tap her nose.

Coco's nose instantly crinkled in response and then her eyes lit up and she spun around. "Papá?!"

Imelda's jaw dropped, and Héctor embraced his daughter, holding her close to his chest as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Oh, I knew you guys were here! That was Mamá with me earlier, wasn't it?!" Coco smiled, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Yes it was, mi amor," Héctor replied.

Coco looked into the air in front of her as she spoke like a blind person. She didn't see her parents, but she could feel that they were there. To prove this, Héctor stepped aside. Coco remained staring forward at nothing.

"I've missed you Mamá, more than you can imagine," Coco said softly into the nothingness.

With Héctor out of the way, Imelda took several cautious steps to stand in front of her daughter. It was as if Coco were looking straight at her! Imelda reached out and stroked Coco's braid and Coco smiled.

"I love you too, Mamá," Coco whispered.

Coco turned back to her soup to give it a quick stir then she turned back to the empty kitchen behind her. She seemed to be blushing, and twisted her braid around her finger as she contemplated saying something. She opened her mouth twice to say it, but finally became confident on her third attempt.

"I, ah…" Coco started. "Since I know you can't yell at me for saying so, Mamá –and I wish that you still could yelll at me-" Coco added sadly. "I really hope you at least try to forgive Papá. He's a good man, I can feel it. I don't know how long he's been gone for Mamá, but I think it was a while. I've always been able to feel him… or maybe I just imagined… anyways, give him a chance, _please_."

Héctor struggled not to beam at his daughter. He gave Imelda a shy glance to see that her arms were now folded. She was looking at him, eyes narrowed, but she wasn't frowning. Her face was still.

"But Papá, you also need to give her some time… You didn't see how angry she was with you," Coco whispered. "But she loved you until the end!" Turning to her right, where she imagined her mother to be standing but where Héctor was really standing, she added, "and Mamá, I'm so sorry to tell him this, please forgive me!" If it were possible for Imelda's eyes to narrow any thinner, they did in that moment. Coco turned left to face Imelda's direction and said to her father, "Mamá…died… clutching my photo of you." Coco's voice broke when she said died, but she carried on, "I know she never stopped loving you. So don't give up hope, _Papito_." With a sad smile, Coco added, "I know she's going to make it hard for you but don't give up hope."

Héctor clenched his fists and tried not to cry. He tore his eyes from his daughter to look at his wife and saw that tears were flowing freely down her face. Imelda raised a bony hand to cover her face and Héctor ran over to her. Emboldened by Coco's words, Héctor slowly and gently put his arms around Imelda, pulling her into an embrace.

Imelda let him hold her, and buried her face into his chest. She did not hug him back, but she did not pull away. Héctor angled his head down so that his lips were casually pressed against her hair. He shut his eyes and began to cry with her.

"I'm sorry, Imelda," Héctor moaned through his tears. "For everything."

Moments of silence passed. Héctor didn't think she would speak and was content to just hold her in silence, but Imelda glanced up at him, tears in her eyes. "I know Héctor. I know you are and I wish it were that easy to forgive you-" she bit her lip, realizing what she said.

"No, no, no," Héctor pleaded, "Please continue Imelda. I want to understand what it is you feel for me."

* * *

Moved by his broken eyes and her daughter's supplication, Imelda stepped back. Héctor let her go, taking her hands instead to keep her close. She allowed this and his heart began to pound as he waited for her to speak.

"I want to hate you, Héctor," Imelda said softly, her eyes refusing to meet his. "But I've always loved you and I can't stop, no matter how hard I try! And trust me, I've _tried_ … Look, for Coco's sake I've forced you out of my mind all these years and now… now she wants me to let you in… it's hard, Héctor!"

" _Entiendo, mi amor,"_ Héctor nodded. "Take all the time you need Imelda, but please, please at least give me a chance!" Héctor paused, hesitating and Imelda glanced up at him cautiously. "C-can I kiss you?"

Frouwning nervously, Imelda glanced over at Coco who had returned to stirring the pot.

After watching her daughter for several moments, she saw the young woman's shoulder's shake as she cried. Biting her lip, Imelda glanced up at the ceiling. Above the kitchen was Imelda's room. She was suddenly overwhelmed by the memory of how she had longed to be close to Héctor in her final moments and rolled her eyes internally, knowing she'd regret it. "Sí-" Héctor leaned down and she raised a finger to his lips, "But it doesn't mean I've forgiven you."

Héctor nodded and Imelda lowered her hand slowly. He closed his eyes and leaned down to kiss her. The second their lips met, both drew back quickly as if they'd been electrocuted. Instead of feeling bone-on-bone as Imelda had half expected to, she felt the softness of his lips pressing on hers as if she were still alive. He felt warm. Imelda raised her hand to her own lips and saw that she was still made of bone and so was Héctor.

Their eyes met and they both recovered from the shock fairly quickly and found themselves kissing again, longer this time and more passionately. Héctor reached down to lift Imelda by her hips as he always would when they were younger. In turn, Imelda let her hands snake up to his shoulders to grip him tightly for support. Eyes closed, she reached up and touched his hair as she kissed him. Her hand brushed on his forehead which felt soft, warm, like skin.

 _Héctor sat across from Imelda on a picnic blanket out in_ El Campo _. He was strumming the guitar absentmindedly, eyes on her. She was watching his hands fly expertly across the guitar. She sat, legs folded, the only thing between them his guitar. She closed her eyes to listen to the music and Héctor was just content to watch her._

 _Out of nowhere, and surprising even himself, Héctor blurted, "C-can I kiss you?"_

 _Imelda opened her eyes slowly and blinked at him. Had she heard him right? Judging by the blush that was now attacking his face, she could tell that she had. She smiled and sat up, putting all her weight on her legs and breathed, "Sí." She thought he'd never ask._

 _Héctor dropped the guitar without a second thought and leaned forward, holding her cheek with his hands as they kissed for the first time. Their lips melted together, their hearts pouring love into each other, and it felt as if it were always meant to be this way._

"Mamá?" a voice in the doorway called.

Héctor dropped Imelda and she jumped two feet away from him as if they were teenagers being caught kissing. Imelda couldn't bring herself to look at him, but she could feel his eyes on her. Elena stood in the doorway, startling her mother who had turned back to stir the soup.

"Yes Elena?" Coco smiled, looking up from her pot.

Elena fidgeted with a ring on her finger and she asked in a child-like manner, "When is Mamá Imelda going to be here?"

"I think they're already here," Coco replied, walking over to her daughter and putting an arm around her.

"They're?"

"Eh- I mean she's," Coco rushed, brushing some hair out of her daughter's face. Changing the subject quickly, Coco added, "Dinner's ready."

Elena rubbed her arm nervously, the same mannerism as Héctor's. "I'm going to go get Franco, then… he's waiting outside."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Coco smiled.

Arms crossed, eyes narrowed, Imelda and Héctor both uttered at the same time, "Who's _Franco_?"

 **A/N: Please let me know how you feel about this chapter! I hope I wasn't rushing things! It's just, I know she's conflicted about this but I also know it's kind of hard to force yourself not to be with your true love 3**


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